San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1887-07-14

aide afraid 10 meet the other. you may know
the 'faid side has no good cause.
They say that prohibition Ii Yankee fan
atheism. II there IL anything true In history
Il Ii measure from tho south itself and
from the Cavaliers OF Virginia. not from the
Puritan's but had It's birth In Virginia
among the Cavaliers. You have only 70
appeal 20 the acts Of jefferson In 1901 and
1905, he was the first man In America a.
an executive officer Of the government who
put prohibition into active and executive
effect, when he issued his order prohibiting
the introduction Of liquor among the lndi-
ans Of the u. 8. The same policy was fol-
lowed by Andrew jackson and Lewis Cass.
The same policy In now followed by Mr..
Cleveland, our president. who has issued an
order that no hquor shall DO sold 10 the IN
habitants Of Alaska Is II their purpose to
deceive the people by keeping them from
tho truth or do they Intentionally misrep-
resent TO tho people these facts which shine
out on the pages Of history, IN brightly M
any events ON tie pages Of the past
-.
want 70 ask this audience whether this
question IL not Texas question 10 DO pass
ed upon by the people OF Texas for the
government Of Texas? II tho passing Of
this amendment had not been interfered
with by persons outside Of the State OF Tex.
as by the contribution Of large sums OF
money and using influence and organizing
this amendment for the purpose Of beating
down and trampling underfoot the senti.
nent of Texas, II this opposition produced
and brought about by the use Of money,
corruption and misrepresentation TO influence
Texan votes, was eliminated from this CON-
test the influence OF the brewers and dis.
tillers of the north and west, prohibition
would carry by majority Of 100000. But
with influence which money will and has
produced, with corruption and the purchase
of the ballot OF Texas by the use Of money
brings TO us the hardest kind Of fight on
the most important measure that ever was
submitted for Texans to vote upon.
-.
This question of the prohibition Of liquor
was inaugurated in Texas In 1854. Roger
Mills was editor OF paper In Corsicana and
editorial after editorial was prohibition, let
ter after letter when he was soliciting sub
scriptions was prohibition. A resolution
drawn mp and signed by him uttered the
sentiment, ''that we will vote for no man
for the legislature of the State Of Texas un-
less lie openly, positively and unequivocally
pledge himself to vots in the Legislature to
prohibit the sale of liquor in Texas" In
1855 this great question was brought up oil
over Texas but was overshadowed by the
greater question of the time. After this
great question of slavery had been decided
now naturally came back the question OF
prohibition. It IL not new question in
Texas; It not an off-shoot from Yankeeism.
There is no man who will deny that the
whisky traffic is the great present evil of
this day, working more wrong. doing more
damage, causing more poverty than any
other,
Gentlemen on the otherside say II is pa
ternalism, but it is not 80, 1t does not at
tempt to lay its hand upon the individual
nor restrain him from any act as far as It
affects himself alone, but 1t lays its hand
upon the BUSINESSMAN enormous evil-and
says il shall no longer be pursued, They
say the theory of our government is that
every individual of adult age is capable OF
self government. Could greater error
creep into our politics Criminals, pau
pers, insane; every man capable OF self
government No! the theory of our gov
eminent is that the aggregate of the citi-
zens in their aggregate wisdom can govern
themselves. 1t is competent for this body
polite to adopt such regulations as may
promote characters and kinds of business
which are for the public veal and prohibit
such pursuits as degrade and impo7erish
the citizens of the State. I defy any man
no matter what his intelligence and infor-
nation may be to produce any authority
uttered by any writer on law which con-
tains the sentiment that individuals are cap
able of lf-government-of self-govern-
ment throughout such body polite as ours
~.
This is fight of right against wrong, of
virtue against vice, of advancement and
retrogresson. Now, on which side will
you fight, will you direct your influence
against this great monster or against the
women and children of this landp We are
morally right. Are we legally right 1
defy any lawyer or any judge to deny the
correctness of my answer. We are legally
right when we move against whisky for the,
purpose of abolishing the traffic In 1t. We
have the legal and constitutional right
The supreme Court of the United States
has passed upon this question. We have
authorities from nineteen states which have
in every case adopted the decision
of the Supreme Court of the United Sites.
Since 1916 their has been but one de-
cision that uttered different sentiment
and that was in Ohio in 1868 where it was
stated that. there was no right on the per-
sonal liberty ground, but the same court
and judges took back the decision, over
gpled the case and uttered the previous rule.
Our own supreme court has come to the same
conclusion, time after time, and the
people, in their sovereign capacity
have the right in local option over the whole
State to abolish and kill the whiskey traffic.
When Chief Justice fancy made his de-
cision, the whiskey men were represented
by Webster, Choate. and John P. Hale,
and they never undertook to urge this ques-
ton before the court in such an imperti-
nent way az these little rabbit-headed law
yers urge it to-day, and If you were to see
one of those men walking through base
ball yard full of these rabbit-headed lawyers
you would think the Washington monu ment
had come down and was stalking through
the tombstones of a country grave yard.
Lucius Fl. Browne, Esq, will lecture on
prohibition at Center Point, in the Kellam
neighborhood on to morrow friday night.
Picnics appear to be provocative OF
T. n.aa.,